Any journey outside of Louisiana will reveal not only the uniqueness and vibrancy of our culture, but also our uncommonly strong grasp on it. Thankfully that stubborn refusal to let go of boudin, zydeco, and blue dogs has made its way into the lieutenant-governor’s office.
Mitch Landrieu’s pet project, bolstering our “cultural economy,” as he has dubbed it, has led to the fourth annual Louisiana Cultural Economy Summit. Taking place Oct. 29-30, it has been combined with the World Cultural Economic Forum to bring together creative forces in Louisiana and the international community.
The cultural economy concept has brought Louisiana to the forefront of the international creative community, starting with the recently implemented culture districts. In them, tax breaks are given to people who choose to restore buildings within the district, and locally created artwork is sold tax-free.
Scott Hutcheson, Assistant Secretary for Cultural Development at the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, was a guest at a United Nations creative economy summit recently because of these culture districts.
“What differentiated Louisiana is the depth with which we are investing in and growing our cultural economy,” Hutcheson says. “For example, Nigeria has a huge film industry, and that’s what they are concentrating on. In Louisiana, we have a great music industry, a culinary industry, and a visual arts industry, so we are creating an infrastructure that goes beyond a particular part of the cultural economy.”
The concept hinges on clustering visitors in culture- oriented areas; the surrounding restaurants, clubs, and retail venues will benefit from the increased traffic.
This year’s summit will include a discussion of “When Art Makes the Grade,” a pilot program that will be launched in six schools next year. “You have to grow the next generation of the cultural workforce,” Hutcheson says. “There is no better place to do that than in Louisiana, where it’s not foreign for a kid to hear music, to enjoy reading literature, to consume the culture in all its different forms.”
For Hutcheson, this is what makes Louisiana an economic force despite disaster or recession. The cultural economy was already present; we just have to make it viable.
“That’s the unique thing about Louisiana,” he says. “Our culture runs so deep, it naturally rebounds.”
